.

An Uncommon Faith - the published version by www.hannibalbooks.com or through amazon.com

The story of missionary Jan Moses and her journey with cancer

David, the magna cum laude grad, with his best friend and roommate, Andrew Helms.

Martha and David strolling on a high alpine meadow

A hike in the Canadian Rockies

Martha and Sara by the sea. Olympic N.P., Washington

The Hall of Mos(s)es in Olympic NP, Washington

Martha, Sara, David. Too cold for swimming!

Hannah at Payto overlook, Banff National Park

David, Sara, Hannah, Martha, and Jonathan

Canoeing on Lake Louis, Alberta

There were other families in the park.

By a waterfall in Waterton National Park, Canada

A place to dream of. Banff N.P.

Jonathan looking for Noah and the Ark

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

An Oasis of Refreshment

“I never
knew we were so many.”

“This has
been one of the most wonderful weeks of my life.”

“I have
learned so much this week.”

"This is what heaven must be like."

“I have been
made happy!”

These were
some of the comments during our final worship capping our 3 day retreat.216 church members coming from our 22
churches gathered at a comfortable sea-side resort about 45 minutes outside
Iloilo City.Inspirational worship
services, informative workshops, encouraging fellowship, abundant food, and
lots of fun characterized the well-planned retreat.For many of the attendees, this was the
nicest place they had ever stayed in.

Nearly half
of our church delegates were young people, age 16 and up.At a time in their life when they are
bombarded with intense temptations and life-changing decisions, the retreat
provided them with a much needed Biblical worldview from which to make wise
choices.Our topics included, Knowing
the Difference between Love and Lust, Understanding Youth Conflicts and finding
Biblical Solutions, How to Build Godly Relationships, Learning to Discern the
Dangers in our Technology-centered Culture.

For our
older folks, we had topics of Financial Freedom, Balanced Leadership, Sharing
God’s Word, Raising a Godly Family, and Health and Wellness.During each of our 3 worship services, at
least 2 of our pastors gave testimony of God’s work in their lives.We saw them as real people with real
struggles, all relying on a wise and powerful God.On Good Friday, all of us participated in a
dramatic presentation of the Jewish Passover meal as we learned how each of the
elements in the meal pointed to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the
Messianic promise.

Of course,
all were very grateful to the IMB and to those individuals who contributed so
much so that the people here could attend the retreat at minimal cost.Actually, the cost per person for the 3 day
retreat was about $45, the price for a budget hotel room for 1 night in the
U.S. But here, a dollar can be stretched
so much further and accomplish so much more.Everyone voiced their desire to do this again, but budget limitations
means that it is uncertain if we can ever do this again.

The retreat
concluded with 3 new believers being baptized in the resort’s large swimming
pool.At a time when worldly influences
and cultural pressures are oppressing God’s people, the retreat was an oasis of
refreshment.Thank you so much for each
of you who prayed.My goal was to see
God’s people encouraged in their faith and, based on the comments I heard, that
goal was aptly met.